Praying for grandparents

Richard A. Sokerka

In his prayer video for the month of December, Pope Francis prays for grandparents and the elderly, urging people to respect and support them, that their wisdom may continue to be passed down to new generations.

“A people that does not take care of grandparents, that does not treat them well, has no future!” the pope said in the video. “The elderly have wisdom.”

This video hit home for me, since my wife and I welcomed our third grandchild, Jacob Andrew, into the world at 3:15 a.m., Nov. 7 in Omaha where he joined our other two grandchildren, Grace Elizabeth and Mitchell Allan. And we are eagerly and prayerfully awaiting the birth of our fourth grandchild in April here in New Jersey.

That the pope is personally praying for us this December, the month in which Our Savior is born among us, should be heartwarming and reassuring to all grandparents around the world.

The importance of the relationship between grandparents and their grandkids is one of Pope Francis’ favorite topics.

Last year in Rome Pope Francis held an audience with nearly 7,000 grandparents, urging them to talk with their grandkids about the faith. “Talk to your grandchildren, talk. Let them ask you questions,” he said. “They may be different from you, they may have other hobbies, they like other music … but they need the elderly, this ongoing dialogue.”

The Holy Father called grandparents “an important presence because your experience is a precious treasure, essential to looking to the future with hope and responsibility.”

Encouraging and educating our grandchildren in the faith is a very important role that we have in the lives of our grandchildren as is the responsibility to pass on to them our life experiences, and the histories of our family, community and culture.

Thank you, Pope Francis, for your prayers for us in our role as grandparents and for your wisdom.